Michael Zagaris/GettyPaul DePodesta made a splash with his first choice in tonight's MLB Draft.

The first draft pick of the Sandy Alderson era was a memorable one: The Mets selected Brandon Nimmo, a high school outfielder from Wyoming, with the 13th pick in the First-Year Player Draft tonight.

His high school, Cheyenne East, does not field a baseball team, but scouts flocked to his games as a member of American Legion Post 6.

The move comes as a surprise, considering both Nimmo’s inexperience against major competition and the bevy of highly touted college pitchers available.

But Paul DePodesta, the team’s vice president of scouting and player development, felt compelled to act. He noted a dearth of high-level hitters in this draft, and believes Nimmo possesses a mature plate approach and power potential.

“We weren’t that interested in making what we thought was the safest pick,” DePodesta said on a conference call tonight.

“We were interested in making the pick that we thought had the chance to make the most impact.”
Now comes the hard part: Signing him. Nimmo, a 6-2, 190-pound center fielder, has committed to Arkansas.

ESPN.com’s Keith Law reported this week that Nimmo’s initial bonus hopes could be as high as $3 million.

Still, the team believes they will get their man. Scouting director Chad MacDonald reported that after speaking with Nimmo on the phone, he told MacDonald he was ready to play.

“We’ll let the negotiations play out,” MacDonald said. “We’re confident he’ll be a New York Met.”

Here is MacDonald’s report on Nimmo: “Really good swing,” he said. “There’s a finish to it. Power is coming. A middle-of-the-field guy that can hit with power. That’s what we like.”

Last August, Nimmo received an invitation to the Under Armour Game at Wrigley Field. As Mets scouts looked on, he was named the MVP. During the spring, the team viewed him again when Post 6 trekked to Phoenix for a series of games.

In early June, DePodesta flew from his home in San Diego to Denver. Then he drove the two hours to watch Nimmo play once more. He liked what he saw.

The Mets maintained a steady eye on Nimmo’s play.

“We covered just about every game,” MacDonald said. “It was a unique schedule, both because of the location where he played, the weather, and mostly just because they play on the weekends, so there’s really no mid-week games.”

The biggest surprise of the draft was the fall of Anthony Rendon, the Rice third baseman who was considered the top college position player available. After Seattle passed on him at No. 2, Rendon descended to Washington at No. 6.